Ah, the winch: a tried and true tool indispensable in so very many applications! Be it pulling a Jeep from the mud, hoisting a 454 out of a classic Chevy, or simply tightening down a heavy load, the winch has been an enduring marvel of fundamental engineering. The sheer magnitude of the winch's usefulness has made problems with its use seem miniscule in comparison, enough so that these problems have been left unresolved for as long as the winch has been an implement. Take, for example, the simple issue of paying out a line. In many instances, the line is a sturdy rope that, when paying out, tends to back up on the drum, resulting in an unnavigable rat's nest, and thereby rendering the winch useless for anything but a bludgeon. Similarly, when a force is exerted on the line in the direction of the drum as the line is paying out, veritable chaos ensues. The solution so often implemented has been simply to pull on the line as it pays out. However, in so many applications, this is impractical, if not utterly impossible. Therefore, there is at least one problem with winch-tech that, having been left unresolved, accordingly leaves the winch in a lesser state than it could possess.